Assembly Bill 811

Simply Put:

Low interest rate loan (so far at 7% amortized over 20 years) from the City attached to your property that resides within that city’s limits and to be paid every six months through / along with your County property tax payment;
Earmarked ONLY for and covers MOST energy efficiencies and renewable energies available to the public;
Requires NO credit check and can pass to new owners of property without future credit checks through title transfer at escrow.

More Specifically:

With the passage of AB 811, residents of Palm Desert are the first in the nation to be able to finance the installation of energy efficiency improvements and distributed generation, renewable energy sources that are permanently fixed to real property within the City with low interest loans which can be repaid in up to 20 years on property taxes.

AB 811 - What's in it for you?

You, as the owner of residential or commercial real property, immediately enjoy a greatly reduced electric bill with no out-of-pocket expense to you;
If you sell your home or business, the new buyer can assume the payments, as you benefit from the increased equity at sale;
Loans have a minimum of $5,000 and no maximum limits;
Loans are not subject to credit ratings or credit checks;
The interest rate is fixed at or near 7% and paid bi-annually through your property tax;
Loans can be used on a variety of energy efficiency improvements and the materials and labor required to install them properly. Efficiencies now include:
- air conditioning and ventilation systems,
- pool pumps,
- energy efficient windows, doors and skylights,
- window films,
- tankless water heating equipment,
- white -roofs and coatings.
Renewable energy sources now include:
- natural gas fuel cells, solar systems.

AB 811 - Five Step Method for Palm Desert Residents

You decide what type of efficiency improvement and/or renewable energy conversion you would like to add to your home or commercial property and make sure that you do not have any current liens that will not allow you to subordinate the AB 811 lien;
You request and receive by e-mail, fax, regular mail or in person the AB 811 Application and simply fill in the personal and pertinent information including type of project you would like to spend the monies on, materials to be used, Contractor's information and proof of contract detailing costs;
You should be prepared to allow the City of Palm Desert Office of Energy Management (OEM) fifteen (15) days after receipt of the Application to evaluate criteria such as title (OEM splits the Application processing and title search fees with you), if taxes on the property affected are current and not in default, if the final cost of the project applied for is within market price and reasonable. Projects with a cost of $20,000 or less require OEM approval though projects of $20,001 up to $200,000 require City Manager approval and projects over $200,001 require City Council approval so a few more days may be required until receiving the green light to move ahead;
When Application approved into Contract you now have ten days to sign and return that Contract so that OEM can lien the property Contract price (plus 10% for change orders) and you now have six (6) months to complete the project;
In projects above the $20,000 minimum, you can request a payment of no more than 50% of the Contract price be funded to your account directly once OEM is satisfied that 75% of the materials required to complete the project are secured. This one-time payment will help pay advanced materials costs to your Contractor. After that the balance of the Contract price is paid ten (10) days after OEM is satisfied project has been completed. All unused funds remain within the AB 811 program and you only pay on the funded amount (plus a Riverside County Tax Assessor processing fee) on a bi-annual basis.

Palm Desert has set the pace statewide in the implementation of energy efficiencies and renewable energy conversions by approving and implementing Assembly Bill 811. They have been successfully taking applications since August 28, 2008. With this new program property owners can apply for a loan for any energy efficient measure which is permanently attached to the property, including solar PV, high efficiency heating and air conditioning systems, efficient pool pumps, windows, and much more. Please refer to the following links for more information:

Please visit this website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for updates and information.

For more information visit Renova Solar